


Under the Sea

by writemydreams



Series: JayDick Week 2017 [4]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Attraction, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 19:10:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13301370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writemydreams/pseuds/writemydreams
Summary: Dick lives out his days in peaceful solitude on his island or down in the sea. All that changes when he meets an injured mer named Jason -- the first mer Dick has ever met.





	Under the Sea

Dick leaned back on his hands, enjoying the feel of the sun on his skin. His little island was so peaceful. Just him, the birds, the occasional crab. If he wanted human companionship or additional supplies he had his boat. For the most part, the island gave him everything he needed. Peace and quiet, an ample supply of fish and fruits… and most importantly: privacy. Dick was free to be himself here. No one could look at him strangely for being a mer-human crossbreed with sea magic. 

The water lapped at his bare feet as if inviting him in. Dick wiggled his toes in the sand and looked out. Maybe he should respond to the call. Explore the underwater world. He soaked in the sun a few more minutes before rising. Dick headed up the beach to the little hut he’d built himself. He undressed, tossing his clothes onto his bed before grabbing his satchel. He’d learned the hard way that his clothes weren’t always there when he came back to the shore. Dick returned to the beach, wading out until his toes barely touched the sandy bottom. He took one last breath of air before shifting into his mer form. Dick’s tanned legs fused together to form a deep blue tail with black fins while blue webbing grew between his fingers. He dove into the water and swam away from the island. 

Mer eyes and senses were so different from human ones. The water felt alive all around him, blanketing him in energy as old as the very first waves. Dick rolled in the water and wrapped his arms around himself. He laughed from the sheer joy his mer body gave him. Swimming was so much easier with his powerful tail. There was no need to hold his breath or limit himself to short excursions beneath the waves. Like this, Dick could swim and explore to his heart’s content. 

That exploration would begin with the shipwreck he’d discovered last week. Dick swam past the rocky shoal that protected him from unwanted visitors and down into the deeper parts where the ship lay. He assumed it’d been the victim of a storm as two of the masts had snapped clean off, floating elsewhere with time. He dove down to the wreck. Dick skimmed his hand over the barnacle covered rail before making a loop around the shipwreck to see if anything had changed. If anyone or anything had discovered his find since he last came here. Dick always hoped to meet another mer down here. He was a creature of two worlds: not quite human and not quite mer. He’d met so many humans over the years, yet never a mer. Some humans thought him strange and rejected him. Others were drawn to him. What would the mer see him as? A freakish crossbreed? Or someone interesting? 

_Quit thinking about it,_ Dick scolded himself. It was pointless to worry or get his hopes up when he doubted he’d meet a mer here. He’d chosen to be isolated for a reason. Shaking his head, he swam down into the belly of the ship. Past the bones of the unfortunate souls who hadn’t been able to escape and down to the cargo hold. It must’ve been a merchant ship bound for distant lands. The sea had ruined all the bolts of cloth and garments while leaving the jewelry, cutlery, and trinkets unharmed. Dick opened a chest to drape himself in silver bracelets and strands of pearls. Was this what mer royalty looked like? 

A ruby pendant fell from his hands when he sensed blood. There was something different about this blood. Dick swam out of the cargo hold to float above the deck. Every instinct he had told him this was a mer. Finally he could meet one of his kind! Maybe even help his injured kinfolk. The mer clearly needed assistance. 

* * *

Jason gritted his teeth against the pain. He’d been so stupid to let his guard down in unfamiliar territory. All he wanted was to rest, damn it, not fend off a hungry shark wanting to make him his next meal! Jason needed a sheltered location to nurse his wounds. Before the blood attracted other predators. Down there – a shipwreck! It could work. He hesitated at the scent of another mer. A male. There could be a fight if this was the mer’s territory. Jason glanced over his shoulder at the trail of blood he’d left behind. He had to take the risk. He knew he couldn’t afford to stay out in the open while bleeding. 

Jason was within a few tails breadths of the ship when the mer emerged from it. Great. He was absolutely gorgeous. Jet black hair framed a pretty face with vivid blue eyes and lips begging to be kissed. His tail was a deep shade of blue to match his eyes – not always common with mers. Attractive as he was, Jason sensed something unusual about him.

“You’re bleeding,” the mer said.

“Shark,” Jason replied. He braced himself for an attack as he studied the other mer. Being injured didn’t mean he was incapable of self-defense. “I don’t want to fight you or threaten your territory. All I want is to patch myself up and get on my way.” The other mer hadn’t demonstrated hostility yet. Maybe this would be a peaceful encounter. 

The mer smiled. “I don’t live far from here so I suppose it is my territory. Come down into the ship so I can take a look at those bites. I’m Dick, by the way. What’s your name?”

“My name is Jason.” He swam after Dick, admiring how the pearls lay against his muscular back. Maybe he’d extend his rest break to get to know Dick a little better. Travel was enjoyable, though it could be lonely.

Dick flashed a grin over his shoulder. “A pleasure, Jason.” He turned to face Jason after reaching the cargo hold. “Sit on those crates please.” He pulled a roll of cloth bandages from the satchel once Jason was in place. Dick’s lips curved down into a frown when he examined the bites on his side and bicep. Any deeper and the shark could’ve taken his arm off. Dick carefully bandaged the injuries. “There!” His smile returned. “Normally, I’d put ointment over those bites to prevent infection and aid in the healing. It doesn’t work too well underwater though.”

“Thank you.” Jason touched the bandages. Cloth… how strange. He’d never experienced cloth bandages before. Only kelp or seaweed. 

Dick flopped down on a chest. “You’re welcome. I don’t know where you live or what you’re doing in these parts. If you’re in no hurry to get somewhere, I advise you stay nearby until you’ve healed.” 

How could he refuse? “I’ll stay if it’s all right with you.” Jason would like to spend time with Dick and explore the wreck with him. Humans were such intriguing creatures. So many strange tools and inventions! They built statues of royalty and their gods, sailed across the seas in wooden ships instead of swimming… Their books were what fascinated him most. Jason had only ever seen a few in his life, but he loved them. Someday he’d be able to collect his own books. 

Dick smiled warmly. “I don’t mind at all. Where are you from?”

“Not from around here. I’ve been travelling before I seek out my own territory. I’ll need it before the next season.” Jason was old enough to seek a mate. He’d need suitable accommodations before then. Otherwise no mer would want him. A male with no stability to share was worthless. “What about you?” 

Dick toyed with the pearls around his neck. “I was born and raised not too far from these waters. Sometimes I return to my birthplace to see if it’s changed as much as I have.”

“Has it?”

Dick shook his head. “I don’t think so. The population increases, but little else changes. You’re welcome to find a place nearby if you’d like to settle here. I’d enjoy the company. I chose this area to be secluded from humans.”

Isolation may have been what Dick sought, but he was clearly lonely. “Maybe I’ll find a place while I’m healing. Where is your home? Here in the ship or do you have a cave?”

Dick chuckled. “I have a sea cave and a hut up on the island. I’ve the whole place to myself. No one can judge me for being who I truly am.” He sighed, making Jason wonder how he’d become so ostracized that he turned to the surface world. “I’ll show you the cave now. So long as an octopus hasn’t tried taking it over again. They’re rude that way.” 

Jason followed Dick out of the shipwreck. “They are. I had to fight one for a bottle made of purple glass once. I’d never seen something like it before. I won the bottle in the end. Contemplated eating the octopus for my victory, but I let it go. I never liked the tentacles.”

“Me neither,” Dick chuckled. He paused when they reached a curtain of braided kelp. He pushed it aside to reveal the mouth of a cave. Again, Jason felt something different. “Air pocket,” Dick explained. Insecurity crossed his face as he let the curtain fall. “I… should tell you what I really am. If you haven’t guessed already.”

“I haven’t.” 

Dick took a breath. “I am a child of land and water. My mother was a sea witch and my father a mer. I never met him and the sea took her before she could pass all her knowledge of our shared gifts to me. I only learned I could change into a mer a few months ago. There are limits to this body though. I can only be in mer form for twelve hours before I become human again.”

Jason’s eyes widened in surprise. Dick’s scent had marked him as unique. That he was half human and a sea witch never would’ve occurred to him. “Is it strange?”

Dick blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Is what?” 

“Having legs!” Jason touched his own tail. “Or going from legs to a tail.” What would it be like to have two legs? To easily walk on land instead of dragging his heavy body? Everything that made him so strong beneath the sea caused him to be awkward and cumbersome out of it. 

“Oh,” Dick laughed. “There is a tingling sensation when I change from mer to human. It feels a little funny at first. There’s no pain or discomfort, thankfully, otherwise I wouldn’t make the change that often. “ He swam through the kelp and up to the air pocket in the cave. “Come up so I can put some ointment on those bites.”

Jason hesitated. The change from water to air was always uncomfortable. Land was Dick’s world too so he’d have to get used to it. “Okay.” He broke the surface, grimacing at the unnatural dryness of the air. Jason grasped the ledge and hauled himself up onto it with some difficulty. His side and arm protested the movements. “Did you find this naturally or create it with magic?” He looked at the items scattering the ledge. Clay pots, shells, pearls, a pile of blankets that served as a bed.

“Both. There was a tiny air pocket that I built up over time so I’d have a safe place to breathe if something should prevent me from reaching the surface.” Dick pulled himself onto the ledge with more grace than Jason had managed. He opened one of the pots to reveal a thick, white paste. “Hold out your arm.”

Jason obliged. He watched Dick unwind his bandages then spread the ointment over each bite before carefully wrapping them again. “There.” He smiled at Jason, surprising him by leaning forward. Jason half expected a kiss. Dick caught him off guard when he touched the white streak in his bangs. “How did you get this?” 

He barely managed not to recoil. His teal eyes and white streak were ever present reminders of a nightmare he’d give anything to forget. “An old injury,” Jason said vaguely. “This part of my hair has been white ever since.”

“Oh,” Dick said softly. “I’m sorry. I can tell it still bothers you. I… understand the pain of old injuries.” He lifted the pearls to show Jason an ugly scar on the left side of his neck, just above his gills. “Human mercenary.”

“Human… barely.” Jason looked away from Dick’s scar. He didn't want them to dwell on dark times. “Tell me about your magic. Can you change shapes because you’re half mer or because you’re a sea witch?” He knew the subject change was none too subtle. 

To his relief, Dick went along without complaint. “I’m not really sure. Maybe it’s both? There must be other half mer half humans out there. Perhaps I’ll get answers if I ever meet one.” Dick lazily splashed his tail fins in the water. “Why is your tail red?” 

Jason glanced down. “It was green and yellow when I was a child. My scales turned once I reached maturity. A mer’s tail depends on their parents or family line. There are exceptions though. I have a friend with the only red tail in his entire family.” He wondered about Dick’s mer father. Did he know he had a son? Or had he abandoned his human lover and child? Too many questions. Too high of a likelihood he’d never know.

Besides, there were more important things in life than the past. If his connection to Dick was as strong as Jason already felt, he could be the mate he’d sought all along.

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to leave this fic with an open ending. I could easily write more and show them getting together, but I'm not that passionate about the Mer AU craze. So this will just be a one-shot.


End file.
